With the state title on the line, Rachael Tolsma unleashed the best throw of her career.Her shot put delivery set a Hamilton school record at 41 feet, 2 inches and put her in position for a title.But Zeeland East's Brittany Casey passed Tolsma on the final throw to win at 41 9 3/4.Both are seniors this season, along with Tolsma's Hamilton teammate Brogan McMahon, giving the area another group of state contenders."I am really excited. I have been waiting for this since last year's state meet," Tolsma said. "Whenever I am working out, I think about what (Brittany) is doing and what I could be doing to get better."Training with McMahon couldn't hurt.McMahon placed fifth in the state in the discus as a sophomore and finished 16th in both the shot put and discus last year.Three other throwers from Zeeland finished in the top 16 in either the shot put or discus last year, too."It is an advantage to have that kind of competition at our dual meets and conference meet, so when we get to state, we don't freak out," McMahon said. "We are used to it. They are the same people we are competing against at state."That high level of competition has Tolsma ready for the next level. She signed a national letter of intent to accept a track & field scholarship at Hillsdale College, an NCAA Division II program."I chose Hillsdale because it has high academic standards," she said. "The campus was small and it really felt like home when I was there. The team and coaches were awesome too. Everything just clicked when I visited. I'm really excited about competing at the next level. I'm looking forward to the challenge and to see how much I can improve from where I am now."Tolsma said technique is the key."I need to make all the pieces flow better," she said. "I kind of muscle my way through it, but I need to work on the technique."McMahon is also fine-tuning. She is looking to return to all-state status after last year's 16th-place finishes."For discus, going from the back of the circle to my power needs to be smoother and I need to get to a more balanced power position," she said. "Hopefully, that will make it go a lot farther. Looking back at it, I threw decent, but personally I was disappointed because of how I did my sophomore year. The competition was a lot better. I definitely want to qualify in both again and place in discus."Having Tolsma has helped every year, McMahon said."Rachael is the hardest worker I have ever met," McMahon said. "I don't know anyone who has worked harder than her to get where she is in everything  sports, school. I look up to her a lot. It definitely helps to have her by my side through everything."Tolsma is hoping for another great finish, maybe even a title."The state meet is anyone's game," she said. "It all depends on who has a good day."Team previewsBOYSWest OttawaLAST YEAR >> Third in OK Red and Division 1 regional, 13th at state COACH >> Craig Kingma, fifth season KEY RETURNERS >> James Lacy (jr., sprints), Jesse Grover (soph., sprints), Cristian Ramirez (sr., sprints), Gabe Kuyten (jr., distance), Donovan Nykamp (sr., distance), Tito Suarez (sr., distance) COACH'S VIEW >> "Keep an eye on all of our athletes - they're fast."  KingmaHollandLAST YEAR >> Fifth in OK Green COACH >> Benji Garza, eighth season KEY RETURNERS >> Justice Burley (jr., pole vault), Raymond Surya (jr., distance), Manny Harinda (jr., sprints), Caleb Livengood (jr., 400 meters) COACH'S VIEW >> "I expect to see a lot of gains from the beginning of the season to the end. We have a lot of young athletes who are working hard now and we expect that to translate into faster times, greater heights and greater distances as the season gets going."  GarzaHolland ChristianLAST YEAR >> Fifth in OK Green COACH >> Mike Verkaik, third season KEY RETURNERS >> Kyle Steigenga (sr., jumps), Luke Peterson (jr., distance), Mitch DePree (jr., hurdles), Phoenix Elzinga (jr., hurdles/sprints) COACH'S VIEW >> "I am excited to work with this group of athletes. We are very young, with over half our team being freshman and sophomores, but am looking forward to seeing the improvement that we will make as the season progresses."  VerkaikZeeland EastLAST YEAR >> Second in OK Black COACH >> Ralph Neal, third season KEY RETURNERS >> Devin Butler (jr., jumps), Avery Echols (sr., sprints), Chandler Smith (sr., sprints), Corey Westra (jr., sprints), Scott Binder (jr., middle distance), Matt Cramer (jr., middle distance), Jacob Compagner (sr., throws), Jacob Bachman (jr., throws), Chandler Barense (sr., throws) COACH'S VIEW >> "We had great participation in our winter workouts and we look forward to improving our standing in the conference, regional and state meet. Our sprint crew will be interesting to watch throughout the season as we look to qualify as many athletes as possible for state competition."  NealZeeland WestLAST YEAR >> OK Green and Division 2 regional champs COACH >> Phil Hoover, ninth season KEY RETURNERS >> Danny Bauder (sr., sprints), Jason Tran (sr., hurdles, long jump), Sam Plaska (jr., middle distance), Trent Kujawa (sr., throws), Jordan VanDort (sr., throws) COACH'S VIEW >> "We hope to improve as the season progresses and compete well in the OK green. We have six returning all-state athletes as well as a solid middle distance lineup. Our sprints are strong along with our throws. We have a well balanced team that can cover all events. Our goal is to reach our potential during the championship phase of the season."  HooverHamiltonLAST YEAR >> Tied for second in OK Green COACH >> Kevin Spotts, 18th season KEY RETURNERS >> Nathan Pando (jr., sprints), Matt Miller (sr., middle distance) COACH'S VIEW >> "We try to be a competitive team both in the league and at weekend relays. With 50 guys running track, and a very young team, we hope to improve each week as a team and improve individually each and every day."  SpottsSaugatuckLAST YEAR >> Won SAC North, Division 4 regional and state title COACH >> Rick Bauer, seventh season KEY RETURNERS >> Clayton Springer (sr., distance), Andrew Poolman (sr., sprinter), Jacob Pettinga (jr., distance), Andrew Blok (sr., throws), Wes Webbert (sr., high jump/middle distance), Joe Brown (jr., middle distance), Joey Koscielski (sr., throws), Damien Waldo (sr., pole vault) COACH'S VIEW >> "We should be very strong in the distance, mid distance events, hurdles and the throws. This year we hope to build on the success we have had last year. We hope to challenge for the SAC North Division Crown, The SAC championship, regional, MITCA team State and the MHSAA state championship."  BauerBlack RiverLAST YEAR >> 10th at Division 3 regionals COACH >> Phil Jones, third season KEY RETURNERS >> Nate Boysen (sr., sprints), Taylor Mitchell (sr., middle distance), Corey Zeinstra (sr., distance), Zack Schreur (jr., middle distance), Joseph Britt (jr., distance), James McCann (soph., distance) COACH'S VIEW >> "Our goal this season will be to continue to teach and train the athletes to take the program to another level. In the end, getting as many athletes to the State Finals is a major objective for this team."  JonesGIRLSWest OttawaLAST YEAR >> Sixth in OK Red, 10th at Division 1 regional COACH >> Beth Masopust, second season KEY RETURNERS >> Molly Borgman (sr., hurdles/high jump), Mikayla Martinie (jr., middle distance/high jump), Anna Repesh (soph., sprints), Erica Kuiper (sr., sprints), Hannah Arvidson (sr., sprints) COACH'S VIEW >> "We are improving steadily and all of the girls are working hard. The team is dropping times and getting faster and working really hard every day. We are encouraged my returning runners and a fast freshman class."  MasopustHollandLAST YEAR >> Sixth in OK Green COACH >> Roi Gibson KEY RETURNERS >> Denasia Dornak (soph., sprints), Alexis Staten-Gordon (jr.), Faith Thomas (jr.) COACH'S VIEW >> "This year we are young but we will enjoy coaching and teaching the younger athletes."  GibsonHolland ChristianLAST YEAR >> Third in OK Green COACH >> Mike Verkaik, 13th season KEY RETURNERS >> Carly Sommavilla (sr., sprints), Autumn Rooks (sr., long jump/hurdles), Maria Kuipers (jr., distance) COACH'S VIEW >> "I have several experienced runners returning this year that will be the foundation of this team. I am hopeful that some the incoming runners will provide us some depth to keep us in the top half of the league."  VerkaikZeeland EastLAST YEAR >> Tied for first in OK Black, second at Division 2 regional, fifth at state COACH >> Bob Sommerville, 25th season KEY RETURNERS >> Sophia Smith (sr.), McKenna VanDoornik (sr.), Brittany Casey (sr.), Madison Snuggerud (sr.), Daisy Geurink (sr.) COACH'S VIEW >> "Last year we sent fourteen girls to the state meet (a school record), and while we graduated about half of those we have several back, including Brittany Casey, the reigning Division II champion in shot put."  SommervilleZeeland WestLAST YEAR >> Second in OK Green, eight in Division 2 regional, sixth at state COACH >> Nate VandeGuchte, sixth season KEY RETURNERS >> Nicole Diekema (soph., sprints/long jump), Kelly Klubeck (sr., pole vault/hurdles), Alexis Gaiser (sr., big jump/sprints), Ainslie Schenk (sr., distance), Amy Overway (jr., throws) COACH'S VIEW >> "This year's group of seniors has really worked hard over the last four years to make themselves better. They have really bought into the idea that hard work leads to improvement so it will be a fun year to see how all of the hard work over the years pays off. We are hoping for a top three finish in the OK Green and qualifying for the MITCA team state meet."  VandeGuchteHamiltonLAST YEAR >> Won OK Green and Division 2 regional titles COACH >> Travis Pertner, 15th season KEY RETURNERS >> Jessica Carlson (jr., relays), Brogan McMahon (sr., throws), Jennie Styf (sr., hurdles), Rachael Tolsma (sr., throws), Josie VanderVeen (sr., middle distance, relays), Courtney VandeVorde (high jump, relays), Rebecca Koopman (sr., distance) COACH'S VIEW >> It is always our goal here at Hamilton to build strong teams. Having a committed and talented coaching staff that builds strong relationships with athletes is what we value the most in our program. As usual we will be working for a high up finish at team state and for many top eight finishes at the MHSAA meet.  PertnerSaugatuckLAST YEAR >> Won Division 4 regional, SAC North title COACH >> Angelina Bauer, seven years KEY RETURNERS >> Lauren Jenkins (sr., distance), Cambria Garvelink (sr., distance), Kaylyn Perry (sr., throws), Audrey Flood (sr., pole vault); Jessica Francis (jr., pole valt) COACH'S VIEW >> "Overall, it should be a very interesting season. We are very pumped to have such a big team this year, but being so young, it is very difficult to gauge how we will do. I have a very good feeling about this group, but only time and competition will tell how we end up this year."  BauerBlack RiverLAST YEAR >> 12th at Division 3 regional COACH >> Phil Jones, second season KEY RETURNERS >> Sydney Del Valle (soph., distance), Daniela Sanchez-Martinez (soph., distance), Rachel Merz (soph., throws) COACH'S VIEW >> "Our girls team size has gone from five last year to 11 this year. We will continue the progression of developing our young program for the future and take as many girls to the State Finals as possible."  Jones

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